Asia Tour: The Terra-Cotta Warriors of Xian as Management Lesson

What I did today: Visited the terracotta warriors of Xian, China, which are every bit as spectacular as you’d imagine, and astonishingly sophisticated—especially considering they’re 2,200 years old.

Location: Xian, China

What I did today: Visited the terra-cotta warriors of Xian, which are every bit as spectacular as you’d imagine, and astonishingly sophisticated—especially considering they’re 2,200 years old. The warriors guard the tomb of the first emperor of the Qin dynasty, who was, like all brilliant emperors, a megalomaniac. On one hand, he unified China and standardized the written language, currency, and measurement system. On the other hand, he killed anyone who disagreed with him and a significant number of the 720,000 people who worked on his tomb so they wouldn’t reveal the secret of its location. When I return to Condé Nast Traveler, I am going to borrow some of the emperor’s management techniques and see what happens.